Never been a big fan of pyramids with their forced implication of "higher/better" levels. Though I like the issues Maslow focuses on which matter a lot.
I always liked David McClelland's three-part model of primary human needs: power, achievement and affiliation. I used this as a coaching structure to focus clients on where they were suffering from dissatisfaction of one or more needs and how to satisfy that need more. Very clarifying and motivating.
I’m not crazy about the pyramid either, but I do like the idea of building blocks to create the life you want, and I do think some building blocks are prerequisites to others. As other critics have articulated, Maslow’s hierarchy is somewhat restrictive in the idea of levels and perhaps not reflective of what actually goes on in people’s lives.
I might tinker with this more and see if I can come up with a better graphic.
In McClelland’s system I’m definitely an “affiliation” person, the other two have never resonated with me, although I want to grow in “achievement” a bit, which seems to be required if one wishes to be entrepreneurial.
I enjoyed reading this. As I was reading it, my thought was: Turn it on its side? That way there is the ability to flow and rise from bottom to top with each section. Much of this is relative even sometimes day to day. What do you think of the concept? My inner self said it’s more of a fluid flow of hierarchy than a Donkey Kong level jump with ladders from one to another.
Hi Mary, I did not spend too much time tinkering with the graphic format but I do think the pyramid has some limitations. The issue you raise is a common criticism of the pyramid and even of Maslow’s theory itself, which is that life and the levels are much more fluid. You can occupy more than one level at a time and even within a level be succeeding in some areas and struggling in others. I might spend some time tinkering with the graphic to see if I can come up with anything more interesting. The sideways option does give the potential to view it more like overlapping stairs, where the layers are more connected and less distinct. In my research I also saw someone made a version with overlapping waves, which was kind of interesting.
I found out recently that Maslow's triangle was probably inspired by the Blackfoot way of life, and that the philosophy is much more 3-dimensional and relates to community rather than the individual. I still think it's useful, just limited. It does need updating (or returning to the source).
It's an interesting exercise to make your own hierarchy of needs. In your version, what need do you think feeling stuck relates to? Personal power maybe?
Hi Lisa, interesting about Blackfoot, I’ve heard of that but am not familiar. It would be interesting to know what inspired Maslow to create this in the first place, clearly the war must’ve had some influence, as people were probably worrying about existential threats.
The Stuck level was the one I was most conflicted about, and pondered whether to include it or not. I saw it almost more like a “basement” or floor -1. There are seasons of life when you are not progressing and perhaps even reversing and struggling, so I liked the idea of having a level you have to dig out of before proceeding to any of the “positive” levels. Not sure what the underlying psychology is but I think I was trying to reflect more of real life, that we aren’t always progressing and building, sometimes we’re just in a pit of despair. There is one element on this floor that wasn’t quite captured in the diagram, which is the idea of taking full ownership of one’s life, rather than having a victim mentality. To get unstuck from anything you have to take responsibility for yourself. So maybe the underlying concept is about “ownership” or “self-responsibility”? Without that, you cannot achieve any of the higher levels.
Glad to say I'm doing pretty good on both Maslow's and your hierarchy of needs! 😄 But you're so right about finances. Only recently have I stopped living paycheck to paycheck (largely because my husband earns quite a lot more than I do and we have combined finances), and it's been great to be able to buy better food & pay out-of-pocket for chiropractic care etc.
Hi Jessica, glad to hear it! Financial stabilization is a huge component of the hierarchy, when I was struggling more with money in my early career, I definitely did not eat as well because low prices were driving my purchases rather than nutritional value. Glad to hear things have improved for you in this area!
Never been a big fan of pyramids with their forced implication of "higher/better" levels. Though I like the issues Maslow focuses on which matter a lot.
I always liked David McClelland's three-part model of primary human needs: power, achievement and affiliation. I used this as a coaching structure to focus clients on where they were suffering from dissatisfaction of one or more needs and how to satisfy that need more. Very clarifying and motivating.
I’m not crazy about the pyramid either, but I do like the idea of building blocks to create the life you want, and I do think some building blocks are prerequisites to others. As other critics have articulated, Maslow’s hierarchy is somewhat restrictive in the idea of levels and perhaps not reflective of what actually goes on in people’s lives.
I might tinker with this more and see if I can come up with a better graphic.
In McClelland’s system I’m definitely an “affiliation” person, the other two have never resonated with me, although I want to grow in “achievement” a bit, which seems to be required if one wishes to be entrepreneurial.
I enjoyed reading this. As I was reading it, my thought was: Turn it on its side? That way there is the ability to flow and rise from bottom to top with each section. Much of this is relative even sometimes day to day. What do you think of the concept? My inner self said it’s more of a fluid flow of hierarchy than a Donkey Kong level jump with ladders from one to another.
Hi Mary, I did not spend too much time tinkering with the graphic format but I do think the pyramid has some limitations. The issue you raise is a common criticism of the pyramid and even of Maslow’s theory itself, which is that life and the levels are much more fluid. You can occupy more than one level at a time and even within a level be succeeding in some areas and struggling in others. I might spend some time tinkering with the graphic to see if I can come up with anything more interesting. The sideways option does give the potential to view it more like overlapping stairs, where the layers are more connected and less distinct. In my research I also saw someone made a version with overlapping waves, which was kind of interesting.
Oh that is neat. Life isn’t as orderly as boxes. 😝
I found out recently that Maslow's triangle was probably inspired by the Blackfoot way of life, and that the philosophy is much more 3-dimensional and relates to community rather than the individual. I still think it's useful, just limited. It does need updating (or returning to the source).
It's an interesting exercise to make your own hierarchy of needs. In your version, what need do you think feeling stuck relates to? Personal power maybe?
Hi Lisa, interesting about Blackfoot, I’ve heard of that but am not familiar. It would be interesting to know what inspired Maslow to create this in the first place, clearly the war must’ve had some influence, as people were probably worrying about existential threats.
The Stuck level was the one I was most conflicted about, and pondered whether to include it or not. I saw it almost more like a “basement” or floor -1. There are seasons of life when you are not progressing and perhaps even reversing and struggling, so I liked the idea of having a level you have to dig out of before proceeding to any of the “positive” levels. Not sure what the underlying psychology is but I think I was trying to reflect more of real life, that we aren’t always progressing and building, sometimes we’re just in a pit of despair. There is one element on this floor that wasn’t quite captured in the diagram, which is the idea of taking full ownership of one’s life, rather than having a victim mentality. To get unstuck from anything you have to take responsibility for yourself. So maybe the underlying concept is about “ownership” or “self-responsibility”? Without that, you cannot achieve any of the higher levels.
Glad to say I'm doing pretty good on both Maslow's and your hierarchy of needs! 😄 But you're so right about finances. Only recently have I stopped living paycheck to paycheck (largely because my husband earns quite a lot more than I do and we have combined finances), and it's been great to be able to buy better food & pay out-of-pocket for chiropractic care etc.
Hi Jessica, glad to hear it! Financial stabilization is a huge component of the hierarchy, when I was struggling more with money in my early career, I definitely did not eat as well because low prices were driving my purchases rather than nutritional value. Glad to hear things have improved for you in this area!
This is so good @Dave Kang - I am screenshotting this for later